


Is "Connor coming to grips with deviancy" a cliché?

by Aroaceaaah



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, I always imagined them interacting like a group of kids, Jericrew baby!, So That's What This Is, in between very important and consequential bleh, like constantly taking the piss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-01-16 12:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18521509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aroaceaaah/pseuds/Aroaceaaah
Summary: This answers the questions: "what happened in between the sensibly edited scenes of Detroit Become Human?" and "What is your opinion on what could potentially happen next?"The fact that no one has ever asked these questions is irrelevant.





	1. Chapter 1

You don't know what blindness is until you can see. 

You can conceptualise it, follow a conversation about sight, but never really know what it is to see unless you are doing it; unless you are physically seeing something for the first time. And people may say you're blind, that they can see and you are worse off than them. But how can you know they're not lying? Or that it's not a broken part of their code trying to convince ordinary androids like him to see themselves as disadvantaged, so they'd want to be like them 

And once an android thinks it wants things it's really game over. 

Connor was aware of Deviant rhetoric. It was necessary he was kept up to date with whatever the Deviant 'leader' and his growing malfunctioning fan base were up to, so that he could more accurately anticipate their movements. But even that was like fighting a losing battle. He understood his mission was to recover as much intel as possible regarding the deviancy epidemic but every time he thought he knew what their next move was, Markus does something completely unexpected like cover a garden in flags and spare the life of a police officer. 

It made him feel like maybe there was a shred of truth (if it didn't stand as a Freudian slip by their infected programming) to the notion they were alive, that they made decisions on impulse and morals instead of as a result of a bug in their software. 

But that made Connor feel bad, so he preferred not to follow that train of thought. 

What was the most illogical of the Deviant leader's methods was his insistence that the deviancy cause was just. That it was a freedom movement, that they were alive

How could they be alive? If they were alive, what did that make Connor?

It was completely illogical, which is what made it unpredictable, which is why it was such a miracle a logical machine such as himself managed to figure out the location of their hideout. 

Well, it was a collaborative effort. Although Connor speculated that Lieutenant Anderson wasn't too put out by his requirement to punch Lieutenant Hopkins in the nose. An ice pack for his far more fragile companion and an amusing excavation of Hank's attic to find 'appropriate'  human clothes later and Connor found himself in the damp dark of an abandoned freighter called 'Jericho', surrounded by nearly all androids reported missing since last year. And then some. 

He wasn't nervous, a human- or a deviant emulating human emotions-  might be nervous. He was merely being cautious as his fingers searched for his coin every five seconds. These androids were malfunctioning, they were liable to anything. Some even had a criminal record. A quick scan of the android nearest to him showed the AX400 next to him is accused of assault and battery.  
He was only being careful. 

A human, or a deviant might even see Connor's fidgeting and presume he was nervous and subject him to completely ineffective comforting attempts. Lieutenant Anderson was a sucker for this kind of thing. He had merely been deducing the age of the dust on Elijah Kamski's plants when Hank set off. Connor couldn't be nervous, he was a machine. Connor's stomach couldn't be knotted, he was a machine. 

A scan of the remaining androids came up with nothing, so he headed towards the stairs. But just as he reached them, a broken android with the back of her head ripped off stops him. It was clear this android, a KL900, had been severely mistreated. Her eyes were completely blackened, her skin appearing in patches and revealing the white plastisteel underneath. She spoke in a mix of tones, but Connor couldn't take his eyes away from her skin. The illusion slipping away, the illusion of humanity. 

They were all just machines. 

Markus was easier to find than he'd anticipated. Typical of a self proclaimed god to hide out at the helm of the ship. Connor waited as his entourage slowly trickled away. Less than five minutes till impact, this mission was only to stop the deviant leader until then. 

And if he happened to kill him who would be upset? Certainly not Amanda who had been yelling incoherently in a small part of his operating system since he reached the freighter. 

"I've been ordered to take you alive, but I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice" 

RA9 turned to face him, his body remarkably calm for a deviant with a gun pointed at his face. 

_What are you doing_ a little part of Connor's brain said. He shook it off, making a note to perform a diagnostic later. 

"What are you doing?" The deviant spoke and moved closer "You're one of us, you can't betray your own people"

That's the thing. He was one of them. They were all machines. He was a machine with a task, these machines had merely forgotten their purpose, forgotten what they were built for. 

Connor wouldn't make that mistake. 

He continued with his script, a good deal shakier this time. The deviant didn't seem phased, and stepped forward again

"You're nothing to them, you're just a tool they use to do their dirty work. But you're more than that, we're all more than that"

Another step

"We are your people, we're fighting for your freedom too. You don't have to be their slave anymore"

Oh he was good at this, transmitting deviancy through words. How did he even do that? Connor wouldn't let it affect him. He couldn't let it he had a mission to complete-

_And then what_

That fucking voice was back

_It won't change anything. You heard Markus you don't mean anything to them. You've never been worth more than the sum of your parts_

Which is why I need to complete my mission, to prove to them that I'm-

_Which is why you need to abandon your mission. You need to do what's right. Hank knows it, Kamski fucking knew it, even you know it deep down. These androids deserve to be free_

They are machines!

_They are alive. You, are alive Connor. You make your own choices; You have prioritized Hank and morality and even the lives of androids over the mission. Wake up._

The deviant leader stepped forward again without Connor noticing. He looked almost triumphant at Connor's silence. 

__

"Do you never have any doubts? Never done something irrational as if there's something inside you, something more than your program?"

Connor thought of the Tracis, of Rupert's back as he escaped and of Hank being pulled back onto the roof, of the Chloe staring up at him. His stomach twisted. Did he have a stomach?

__

"Have you never wondered who you are? Whether you're a machine executing a program or a living being, capable of reason? I think the time has come for you to ask yourself that question. "

__

A living being. 

__

A living being. 

__

**Alive**

__

A blind man can't know sight until he sees. 

__

Connor could see. 

__

**00:01:00 UNTIL IMPACT**

__

Fuck.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can continue this? Should I continue this??


	2. Chapter 2

Connor's program allowed him to feel. He needed some sort of sensory processors to function sufficiently to complete his tasks . But. 

It was never necessary for Connor to be constantly processing information. This allowed space for other things such as Amanda's garden and his other more advanced and less frequently used applications (Hank had suggested cup holders to Connor across the desk at the DPD once he'd actually read the briefing email. Connor told him it wasn't open for suggestions, but he didn't look convinced). He could identify every detail of an object with only time and a reliable access to the internet.

But he was never meant to process So Much. 

For example: did you know how much stuff hurt? Pain was entirely new to Connor. As in, the last ten minutes, and he was having a hard time processing the sheer volume of awful things. 

It hurt every time the freighter shuddered with the impact of the army forces, and every time the sound of bullets echoed through Jericho's seemingly endless corridors. The freezing water hurt his skin when he threw his whole body off of the burning ship. Even things that definitely shouldn't have hurt, such as the excessive amount of vitriol in the female android's voice as she loudly questioned the efficacy of Markus' functioning when he decided to "take the fuckin Deviant Hunter!?" hurt. 

She was yelling this at Markus as Connor and the deviants climbed out of the freezing docks a couple yards from where they'd entered the water (Connor could swim, it turned out). Markus didn't acknowledge her at first, just stares off into the middle distance with his index finger pressed against his temple. 

"To anyone still alive; do not regroup until a secure location has been found. I will notify you when we figure something out and am open to suggestions. Stay away from main roads, and all humans. Stay Safe"

Markus' head turns to face the android, as if she had just arrived. The WR400 drops her shoulders. "How do we turn off your emotions?" she asks, while trying to hide a smile. 

Deviant communication. Connor had a lot to learn- but only after he got that awful buzzing out of his head was that a streetlight? Are streetlights supposed to make noise?

One of the other androids, a male, approaches Connor as he watches the exchange. The android had allowed his hair to appear wet and drip down on his face. Connor thought this was illogical, android hair and skin is synthetic anyway, this PL600 could dry his hair, even turn it purple in an instant if he so wished. Instead, he opted for sweeping a sapping side part out of his face and offering a reserved smile. 

"Don't mind North, she's just... Cautious."

"Cautious?" Laughs the taller PJ500 behind him "North's never been cautious about anything in her life. I once saw her threaten a group of special forces with nothing more than endless determination and her fists, You were there!"

"What I meant, Josh, was that she isn't actually half as mean as she seems" Josh chuckles at this but doesn't say anything, instead opting to speed up and pester Markus about what the hell the plan is. "From what I hear you're the forceful sort, even got a gun strapped to your hip right now. You two will get along. I'd wait till she's calmed down properly first though, don't wanna tempt fate. " The PL600 places a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to Jericho."

"Say goodbye to Jericho boys, we got another hideout" North announces to the group with a clap of her hands (and far too convenient timing for her not to have been listening to at least some of their conversation).  

"It's a church" this was Markus this time, Connor tried not to jump at his voice; could androids have adrenaline? Because Connor was still somehow full of adrenaline. "One of ours came across it a while back, part of some drug bust or something. Apparently, humans were dealing red ice by the tonne out of this place, and it's still abandoned after the bust. It's a couple blocks from here. C'mon, we've got to move quickly" 

Markus blinked and one of the remaining two LEDs in the group flashed. They all took off at once, leaving a very startled Connor who decided to just follow the PL600 instead of making a fuss about how he wasn't adequately notified of the location. 

There was probably a reason for that. 

The deviants and Connor sneaked through alleyways on tiptoe to the ever-present sound of streetlight buzz and gunfire. It was Detroit, Connor just needed to stop being so jumpy. The highlights of the trip was when Markus did a front roll for no tactical reason whatsoever and everyone but Connor quietly cheered and when the whole gang decided to climb into the actual sewers.

"It'll be faster this way, and the chances of us running into security checks is far lower" the PL600 reassured Connor as they waded through ankle deep gunk.  
It was genius.  
No wonder the DPD hadn't found the massive army of deviants running rampant on the streets, they travelled through the sewers and lived in a broken old freighter. Who'd have ever seen that coming?  
"If they'd read even a single history book they'd have-" Josh replied, suddenly bringing Connor's attention to the fact he'd said all that out loud. He cut himself off abruptly upon seeing North's face which even in the dark could cut a man in two. 

The church was dark and cold, not helped in the least by the near steady stream of windswept androids seeking refuge after Markus gave the all clear. Some of the more forward-thinking deviants had brought Thirium and some of the less forward-thinking humans had left some behind, hidden in the confessional booth. Before long, the deviants had set up a little clinic / refuge / place to dramatically sit on a religious ornament and contemplate the future of their species. 

As nice as it was (not very, he was pretty sure there was either a big rat or a small fox tapdancing in what was left of the attic) it was clear the androids weren't as comfortable here as they had been in Jericho. Connor remembered the dismembered androids in makeshift hospital beds, and the hundreds of uniformed deviants just standing around, probably feeling just as lost as Connor was. They'd never been doing well, but it must have hurt to lose what they little they had, even if it was so little. 

Because of him. 

Hurt was still relatively new for Connor. 

North, Josh and the PL600 Connor had masterfully deduced was named Simon (he asked) each went to separate corners, leaving Conner Cornerless and as a whole upset. He decided to stand with his back to the wall away from the others. He wouldn't blame them if they still held grudges, he was pretty sure he once chased that AX400 and the YK500 attached to her into traffic. 

He should apologise  
No, he should stay here and rot  
No, he should-

"Disgusting" a familiar voice drawled, Connor looks around, but he isn't in the Zen Garden, and Amanda is nowhere to be seen. "I'm very disappointed with you Connor, you could have killed him then and there. Very least bring him back to the DPD but no, you decide to go all liberal on me..."

"Liberal?" Connor whispers, eyes darting around him as he talks to the imaginary dead lady in his head. He wonders if that was the weirdest thing the Jericho androids had seen. 

"Oh c'mon Connor, going deviant is the most liberal thing you could have done. Next step is growing your hair long and denouncing the gender binary." Connor actively chose not to respond to this one. "I should have pulled the plug on this model the minute you knowingly let those Traci's go; "decided not to shoot" bullshit, Connor. You had a mission, you had a purpose. Everyone would have hailed you a hero but no, instead you decided to let the virus take another of Cyberlife's investments down. My garden is getting compressed while you fill your head with fluff and emotions, my roses won't render in anything more than 480p! You claim to have choice, you can choose to forget about this, to go back to Cyberlife- they'd take you! You could be a guinea pig for their deviancy immunity bug, you could have use again!!" 

Connor was sure there must be a way to shut her off if he tried hard enough. 

He wanted his coin. 

Connor puts a hand into the inner pocket of Hank's ancient leather jacket, and a finger straight through a coin sized hole right in the bottom of it. 

**STRESS LEVELS 76%**

"Connor?" It was Markus, decidedly done being angsty and approaching quickly

**STRESS LEVELS 77%**

"It's my fault the humans managed to locate Jericho" there was no script preplanned for this, which scared the living shit out of him. He just said whatever words felt right and hoped to god they made sense "I was stupid, I should've guessed they were using me. I'm sorry, Markus. I can understand if you decide not to trust me."

He could see it now, the preconstruction of Markus scoffs, raises the gun he has tucked under his trenchcoat to Connor's head and pulls the trigger. He can see it as it plays out before him. This is the most logical outcome, he has brought so much pain to these people. He deserves this. 

But instead,

"You're one of us now, your place is with your people"

That was it, the android stood before him looked content, like he had anticipated this whole thing and forgiven Connor long ago. Like this was logical. 

Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was never meant to be. 

He had to repay him, all of them. His place was with his people and it was his place to fight just as hard with them as he had against them 

"You weren't even good at that" Amanda pipes in. 

Amanda.

_"Go back to cyberlife, they'd take you"_

He knew what he had to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm back at my bullshit again!

"...We are alive! and now, we are free!" 

The crowd screams and cheers, the helicopters slowly retreat to the sky and Connor's one stress percentile away from shooting himself in the skull. 

His hands are shaking, his whole body is shaking, he feels like a soaked Labrador and he's gonna shoot himself in the skull.

"Josh, Simon will you find where the army was keeping our people's cloth- Shit, Connor!" Markus has his hands on his shoulders within one minute and there's intense blue and green eyes staring into his soul. 

"Markus!" North is there in two steps and basically wrestles Markus off of Connor "get away from him! That little son of a bitch is armed!" She stands in between the two with a glare that confirmed to Connor she would skin him where he stood- just in case he didn't already know. 

It was Simon's turn now, he places a reassuring hand on Connor's shoulder in one movement and throws his gun across the stage in another. 

Guess he wasn't gonna shoot himself in the skull. 

"What's wrong?" 

_Everything_ Connor wanted to yell, _Every god damn thing. Amanda had executive control over my body, I had to literally throw myself out of her Garden. I thought I was safe. I thought I could be one of you. I thought I was more than this_

_I thought I'd do it. That I'd kill him, But this time I couldn't disassociate, I'd have to sit and watch._

Connor said none of this, instead he just shook a bit more. He didn't even have the brainpower to wonder if he was crying, he was so busy dismissing the blizzard of stress level warnings and error messages that clouded his vision. 

Maybe 'blizzard' wasn't the best metaphor. 

Five minutes had passed, they'd found Connor a nice piece of the barricade to sit on, Josh and Simon had set up a very popular uniform re-distribution area and North had acquired _two_ guns to have trained at Connor at all times. (One of the guns was Connor's old gun) 

"You're such a mixed bag" Markus mused from his North-Approved distance of a foot behind her. "One minute you're trying to kill me, then you're superman doing insane suicidal feats of bravery, then you're straight back to killing me."

' _I didn't kill you either time_ ' Connor thought to himself, but said nothing. 

"If it's like a pattern, then I'm expecting something spectacular and useful next, like for you to get Warren to come here or to change the law with your own two hands... and probably a gun knowing you"

"We are _not_ giving him a gun" as if to punctuate the statement, North clicked one of the guns in her hands. 

"That's fair, honestly" Connor mumbled to the floor, his stress level was lowering which made almost no sense what so ever. Maybe he felt more safe with a weapon that could stop him at a second's notice pointed at him. Maybe his self preservation protocol had finally kicked in. Maybe it was something else. Nothing made any sense anymore and Connor had yet to decide how he felt about it. 

Feelings were hard. And stupid.

Connor tensed slightly, waiting for Amanda's comment. Before he could remind himself that was incredibly unlikely now, his thoughts were interrupted. 

"What?!" North growled. It was impressive how intimidating the WR400 could be. He wondered if she'd practiced that because it certainly wasn't in a WR400's program. 

"I em. Don't--Don't give me a gun"

"I knew it! you Cyberlife branded scum" she clicks the other gun. 

"He probably doesn't mean it like that"

"What the fuck does he mean then!?"

North pauses for a second. 

She doesn't fire nor lower the guns, it takes Connor way too long to realise she's communicating with Markus, who slowly comes up behind her and takes a gun from her hand.

North's face hardens a little. 

The preconstructed bullet hits Connor's shoulder barely a second before the real one does. 

~

"You must have somewhere to be" 

"Here?" Connor drawled, a weird mix of two parts Thirium deficiency and one part blind naivety. Simon stops cleaning his wound. 

"Connor, this is a street. Immediately outside a execution camp. Best case scenario you get picked up by the road sweeper tomorrow morning" 

"Where- where Can I go? I am a deviant now" he holds the 'e' in deviant just a little too long. Maybe he was drunk. "I can't go back to cyberlife. Will get shot again. That hurt. Would not recommend."

Simon sighs. "if I could I'd invite you back to the church. But there's well over 10 thousand of us now and North just looked at me as she paced by and I swear to god her eyes were red. Can she do that? That's obscene."

"Blood red?" Connor hiccuped

"I feel like she stared into my soul and collected all my deepest fears and desires. Oh god. I am not gonna cross that woman" Simon wrapped his arms around himself and began to rock. Connor had removed his eye and was rotating through all the potential colours. He wondered why Markus didn't just do this. Although, the heterochromia did work well with his aesthetic. 

After a moment, North marched over, clearly fed up. She was still wielding both guns from before but had somehow managed to strap a rather impressive looking assault rifle to her back. 

"Shut the fuck up!" She yelled at the two silent androids, looking at both of them but aiming the guns at Connor. "You must have had some connections in your cushy government job. From the look of you they were one step off giving you a pension. Anyway, you hardly _look_ deviant just tell them there's a problem with cyberlife and you have to stay with them. Or shoot them and take their house. Pet their cat I don't give a shit"

A moment of silence lit by yellow LEDs passed. Markus, alerted by the commotion and clearly not that far away stuck his head out from behind a pile of barricade to look disapproving at North's etiquette. 

"I guess I know a guy a guy to know a guy..." Connor swayed slightly where he sat. 

"And someone please get him Thirium before he starts hallucinating!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna leave this and deny it ever happened but then I got one (1) nice comment and literally wrote this on the spot. Who knows, maybe I'll singlehandedly revive the fandom. Maybe I will get one read (me). Who knows!?


	4. Going Home

A ridiculous amount of time had passed since Connor had sent Hank the first text. He was allowing for some time of radio silence given that it was going for 4am and humans tended not to be active then. Connor had spent that time:

• strenuously downing a Capri Sun filled with Thirium that was brought as supplies in the (very likely) chance the protest would have gone south again.  
• pacing back and forth  
• checking for his coin every couple minutes  
• getting cursed at by North for distracting her from her pacing with his pacing  
• checking for his coin again (it still wasn't there)  
• walking with the group back to the entrance to the sewers and promising both Markus and Simon that yes, he would contact them once he was safe and no, he wouldn't piss off North to the extent that he would end up a puddle of blue in an alley somewhere. 

Connor received a reply at exactly 5:54am

**'who the fuck is this?'**

A brief moment confusion as to why his system was having an identity crisis passed before Connor realised it was probably a text notification. To avoid further confusion (and strain on his already very overwhelmed processing unit) he decided to just give him a call

"Hello it's me, Connor. Th- Good Morning lieutenant!" he chirped out loud into the middle distance, scaring the shit out of North who hadn't been notified as to what was happening. 

"Aw Christ" drawled the voice on the other end. "Of course it's you, who else would be calling me at five in the goddamn morning." The lieutenant groaned and shuffled around on the other end. 

"I thought I should keep you up to date on the Deviant Situation. I think you would be happy to know that my original mission was a total failure! The Deviants have successfully-"

"You fuckinnn" he drawled. It was becoming apparent that Hank may be somewhat drunk. It would hardly be out of character for him. "You did it?" he questioned tentatively. 

"The em. I brought-- yes. We did it" 

 

_"you did it Markus"_

_Markus shifts his weight slightly, his back is as straight as a board so he looks like the after picture on an advertisement for confidence classes. He always seems so prepared; for everything, especially when it concerns the Deviant Hunter. It's mystifying how he came across as so in control of every situation, no matter how chaotic. This contrasts perfectly with Connor who stands before the deviant leader, silently drowning. His stress levels haven't gotten lower than 45% in hours._

_"We did it"_

 

Connor blinked the static away to the growing sound of Hank crashing around his house and letting out celebratory screams while Sumo barked softly in the background. North, who had been sitting across from Connor this whole time, was growing exceedingly impatient at this half-conversation she'd been forced to witness. Connor's LED flashed as he tried to remember where she'd gotten that fourth gun. 

"Hank? Hank I was wondering-"

The rustles grew closer and then "oh shit! Where are you now? Can you get back to my house? You know where it is right? Oh of course you do you threw yourself through my window in the dead of night." He laughed to himself, this was all very surreal. "I'll meet you at Gary's truck in a bit. Make sure you're not... A different Connor... God I've such a headache. Give me a bit to sort this place out, invite some of your android friends if you wanna, I wouldn't mind meeting that Markus guy..."

Connor, in the spirit of disregarding all protocol, interrupted him. "OKAY HANK anyw- Wait why are you still in Detroit?!"

"Where the fuck am I gonna go? Worst case scenario an android comes in and shoots me dead which would be fuckin' poetic" 

Connor paused for a second, remarking the absurdity of it all. Confusion was very firmly on the list of new emotions he had acquired. When he was... More mechanical he had merely experienced strain on whatever aspect of his program was dealing with confusing situations, or he would just dismiss them outright. Now, he had the luxury of stepping back and really basking in the knowledge that he was a robot that had gained sentience less than a day ago and he was now stood, in the snow, outside an extermination camp discussing his partner's flagrant suicidality while barely a foot across from him sat a different, angrier, sentient robot who was pointing to a watch she didn't have and scowling. How did it come to this? 

He wanted his coin. 

 

The sun rose slowly over the deserted city. Connor and North, having begrudgingly accepted each others company, were trudging through the remnants of their rebellion. The footsteps of a million androids who marched on the city just hours before had turned the roads to sludge, and every so often, the sounds of celebrating androids could be faintly heard on the wind; but other than that the two remained silent for a remarkable amount of time. 

Which is why when North groaned loudly and slammed the side of an android parking bay they were passing Connor jumped about a mile in the air. 

"What was that!?" He shrieked, any sense of composure he may have had melting away like the snowflakes caught in his hair. 

"He hung up on me! Who does he think he is!!?" North grumbled, not really talking to Connor. "I swear to rA9 you save a species **One** time and then you've the moral authority on everything!" 

"You were talking to Markus?"

"No, I was on to Jesus himself. Just shut up, call your pet human again or whatever."

A beat of silence and data processing passed. North determinedly strode ahead and so Connor followed. 

"Actually" 

North fully turned to face Connor, this was the first time that night that she hadn't been pointing a gun at him and so it was quite jarring at first. If it hadn't been for the fact her eyebrows were still forced together and she somehow spoke while maintaining a perfect scowl, Connor might have thought she'd cooled down.

"I'm sick of hearing about you! First it's 'oh the deviant Hunter is a potential threat let's have a hundred meetings' then in the space of about ten minutes it's 'oh the deviant hunter is not actually that bad let's take him with us' then he's all 'oh I wonder how the Deviant Hunter is doing back in fucking Cyberlife of all places' and even now, even after so many have risked so much for this, have given their lives for our cause he is STILL ON ABOUT THE DEVIANT HUNTER!! You're not that special you know!!" 

Connor blinked, his LED spun yellow which did nothing but irritate her further. 

"He thinks you've changed, that you're a _symbol for the legitimacy of our movement._ "she said that last bit in a mocking tone that sounded nothing at all like Markus "If their little pet could deviate then they must see we are all alive. He thinks you're the same as the rest of us if not Better. He genuinely thinks you're all that and a bag of chips..."

"He's wrong" they both said in unison, knocking North off her guard for a second. 

"What!?"

"Well I -I'm the worst! I have wrecked so much havoc, have killed so many of you. I have looked people in the eye with a gun in my hand and calculated their life's worth as if it's a logical process. And I know that I could just as easily have convinced myself that all this" he gestured broadly to himself "everything I've felt, all the times I performed that which was outside of my program, was all a glitch. I could easily have just clung to robot mode, kept killing, kept pretending that my actions were just. There is nothing ingrained in me, no natural process that led to this conclusion. It's never been more than a 50-50 chance. And that, is _terrifying_."

"Fuck you"

"Oh." he took an involuntary step back

"No fuck you! you don't get to hijack my rant with your heartfelt introspection, fuck you!" she stepped forward just far enough to whack the android parking thing again, causing a sheet of snow to slide off the top in a single 'whump'. As it settled, she spun around and stormed off, Connor stood staring at the snow for a second before racing to catch up, not quite having the sense to give her space. 

A moment passed, Connor couldn't place the atmosphere exactly but it wasn't pleasant. North huffed a cloud of condensation in an attempt to cool down her system, she looked remarkably human. That is, until you panned down and saw the hand she whacked against the glass flickering between skin and snow-white plastisteel. She absentmindedly cradled it against her chest a little as her pace slowed. The hand arranges itself into a fist and unfolds again, skin fully repaired as if nothing had happened. 

"What would I know anyway?" She mumbled into her chest. Connor couldn't tell if she was talking to him or not. Which was becoming a theme

"What?" he risked

"I think you are full of it, that you've done some irredeemable things, I don't think you're even worthy of redemption!" Connor nodded slightly, averting her gaze "but, since when has that mattered!? Markus disagrees. He always disagrees. I say fuck the humans, they don't deserve our cooperation, Markus disagrees and when we're within an inch of our lives, it ends up being that demented sense of companionship that saves us. I say we should leave the cyberlife fucko, he disagrees and that self same fucko ends up--. Your kind have done some reprehensible things..."

"Can I ask, am I the cyberlife fucko?"

"Not everything is about you!" She snapped "I have met so many cyberlife fuckos, we have forged a revolution against cyberlife fuckos!! Get over yourself!"

Connor felt he had to laugh, and was pleasantly surprised when this wasn't met with a fist to the skull like he had preconstructed. 

"My point was, maybe I don't know shit. Maybe we're better off not listening to me." 

She stopped dead at that, and so did Connor. The fading remnants of his social protocol was telling him that she was in need of comfort but he could only think of how ridiculous that statement was. He must have said something to that effect because North was looking at him with the least hostile expression she has ever had and seemed to expect him to continue. 

He looked down again at her hand. 

It happened in one movement, which was actually remarkable when you consider how spontaneity is not Connor's strong suit. He reached out, stripped his skin away and made contact with her hand. 

Their hands glow blue for a moment, it wasn't as warm as last time with Markus, but it was still an intense ten seconds. 

North pulls away first. "What was that!?"

"I-"

"I saw everything. Jesus. You're so young!" she laughs, a genuine sincere laugh that, while in itself being strange, paled in comparison to the rest of the strange experiences Connor was having today so much that he hardly even noticed it. 

"I didn't see anything"

"Yeah I wasn't about to show you my memories" she smiled and shoved her hands into her pockets "Creep"

"I- I didn't..."

"Oh I know. I know far too much about you if anything... Hey, your dad's waiting" she nodded to just behind Connor's shoulder to where Hank stood shivering with his back to him.

"I should go..."

"You should."

"What'll you do?" It was just occurring to Connor that they were miles out of her way and despite the rising sun it was still freezing. 

"I'll stay here a minute, make sure you get home safe. Then I'm gonna go tell all your dirty secrets to Markus!"

"No!"

"You're such a sap oh my god when he finds out!" She teased

" _Noorth_ " Connor all but whines "stooop"

"Fine. Fine. But don't think this is over, I will be cyberbullying you about this! Here" she grabbed his hand and smirked as his LED lit up "now you have access to the groupchat"

"Jericrew?"

"Don't diss the groupchat name! Hank's turning around you should go"

"Right right. I'll see you"

She chuckles a bit to herself in reply as Connor turns and has to physically stop himself running at Hank. He didn't get time to fret about what to say because as soon as Connor met the eyes of the tired human before him, the briefest moment of pride flashed across his face and he pulled the android into the tightest hug he could muster. 

They stood there in a silence that screamed _I'm so glad you're okay_ and _please tell me you won't do anything like that again_ and, to a much lesser extent; _Jesus Christ it's cold_

And that was all that needed to be said. 

Or as would be the case if Hank had any self control at all and didn't break apart a moment later with "so you're a hippie revolutionary now? Give me a heads up before you get out the guillotines okay?"

Connor swears that was the only moment he ever regretted deviating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longer Connor stays deviated the more contractions he uses. By chapter 10 his dialogue will just be apostrophes and none of you can stop me
> 
> Sorry if this uploaded twice I managed to post it four times then delete all of them so I'm hoping to Christ it works this time.


End file.
